In these cost-cutting days, many people have questioned whether soft subjects like art, music and gym are really necessarily in schools. I'll admit, I've even wondered about this myself.

But research shows that these subjects might offer benefits that go beyond the actual subject matter. For instance, it makes logical sense that kids who exercise during the day might be calmer and better able to learn math, English and other subjects.

And children who learn music seem to experience a boost in brain functioning that lasts their entire lives. When researchers from the American Psychological Association studied 70 seniors recently, they found that adults who'd taken music lessons as children performed better on cognitive tests than adults who did not take music lessons years ago. Music lessons seem to wire the brain early in life, making it better able to adapt to the process of aging.

That's why I thank my mom for forcing 8 years of piano lessons on me during my childhood. If it weren't for those lessons, I'm pretty sure I would no longer be able to remember anything.

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ABOUT THE WRITERS

TIM DARRAGH has been reporting and editing the news for 30 years, most of it at The Morning Call. For much of that time, he's been doing award-winning investigative and in-depth reporting projects. Tim created the three-year-long Change of Heart project, and wrote a series on the state's fractured food inspection system that led to widespread improvements in food safety. Meantime, that novice jogger you see plodding along the streets around Bethlehem Township? That would be Tim.